Employers Underreport Hours for 2 Million Workers as Digital Cards Lift Overtime 37.5%
Updated
Updated · Kathimerini English Edition · Aug 22
Employers Underreport Hours for 2 Million Workers as Digital Cards Lift Overtime 37.5%
1 articles · Updated · Kathimerini English Edition · Aug 22
Summary
More than 2 million private-sector workers are now tracked through digital employment cards, but employers are still using the system to underreport hours and extract unpaid work.
The most common tactic is making staff keep working after officially checking out — closing stores, cleaning, counting cash or serving customers who remain after hours.
Some employers also assign workers “responsibility” titles that keep them on the job longer without paying the extra time.
Even with that manipulation, the digital card has exposed illicit, uninsured and undeclared work and pushed reported overtime up 37.5% in the first five months of 2026 from a year earlier, boosting Social Security contributions.